For those who are in recovery for drug or alcohol abuse, the possibility of eventually relapsing may be a thought that is continually present. This may be especially true for you if you are newly sober. In early sobriety, you may feel sure that you can’t possibly stay sober for a day or two, let alone forever. You may feel shaken up when you hear in meetings that some people have addiction relapse after putting several years of sobriety together, or that others relapse repeatedly and aren’t ever able to understand how to live a sober life. Hearing stories about relapse probably makes you feel uneasy.

One of the first suggestions you will probably hear once you get sober and begin attending meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous is that you should get a sponsor. In some organizations, a sponsor is someone who introduces you to other members of a group and presents you as being suitable for membership. Once that’s done, existing members decide whether they want to admit you. AA isn’t like that. The only requirement for membership in AA is a desire to stop drinking. Even though having a sponsor isn’t a requirement, there are a lot of benefits to having one.

Spend enough time in the 12-step recovery rooms and you’re likely to hear the pejorative term “edging God out” — or “EGO.” The word “ego,” which comes from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theories identifying the interactive components of the personality, has taken on a different meaning from its original definition.

New Year’s resolutions are a popular way for people to motivate themselves to accomplish tasks they have been putting off for a long time and aren’t looking forward to doing. Unfortunately, many people never follow through on their resolutions — they either blow them off completely or give a half-hearted attempt to reach their goal, only to give up and quit after a short period of time.

Relationships are the lifeblood of recovery. Good ones can nourish your self-esteem and bolster your resolve in the darkest moments. But toxic relationships — the ones that bring you down even when you’re feeling your best —don’t just rub you the wrong way. They can put you at high risk of relapse.

Carl is a soft-spoken screenwriter who grew up in an impoverished, alcoholic home. For most of his adult life, Carl has turned to alcohol to cope with grinding depression and a gnawing sense of not being good enough. One night after a weekend of drinking, Carl had a blackout. He awoke in his car with a horror unlike any other; he believed that he’d hit a pedestrian. He vowed that day never to drink again, and for five long years he didn’t, through sheer willpower. No rehab or 12-step meetings for Carl. But Carl was acutely miserable, prone to angry outbursts and just as anxious and depressed as ever.

In a novel experiment, researchers at Stanford University in California randomly assigned 38 people to take a 90-minute walk in either a natural or urban setting, then assessed them on their levels of repetitive negative thoughts about themselves, a behavior that is associated with depression and other mental health issues. The investigators found that after their trek, nature walkers reported a significant decrease in rumination and also had less brain activity in a portion of the brain associated with risk for mental illness. Participants who walked in an urban environment did not receive the same benefit.

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The Ranch offers residential treatment for addictions and mental health disorders in Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Our experienced treatment teams draw on evidence-based and experiential therapies to create personalized treatment plans that help people transform their lives.

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